UF College of Veterinary Medicine earns No. 9 ranking from U.S. News & World Report; becomes one of 28 UF graduate programs ranked among nation’s Top 30 in latest results

By TOM NORDLIE

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When U.S. News & World Report magazine issued its 2020 rankings of graduate programs this week, the University of Florida saw sweeping gains, brought about by the university’s overall momentum toward preeminence.

In one of the year’s more notable successes, UF’s College of Veterinary Medicine was ranked ninth for 2020, up from the No. 14 position it held in the previous U.S. News rankings for veterinary programs, issued in 2015.

Calling the college’s recent growth “remarkable,” its current dean, James W. Lloyd, D.V.M., Ph.D., attributed the 2020 placing to numerous factors that include exceptionally active research and small-animal clinical care programs, and strong demand for UF’s D.V.M. degree program from a well-qualified, diverse applicant pool.

“These new rankings reflect amazing success in our ongoing pursuit of preeminence across the mission: teaching, research and clinical service,” said Lloyd, who has led the college since his arrival at UF in July 2013. “Without a doubt, our success is squarely rooted in the incredible hard work, dedication, creativity, scholarship and unwavering commitment to quality of our faculty, staff and students,” he said.

The college represents Florida’s flagship veterinary medicine program, launched in 1976 and jointly administered by UF Health and the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Past UF administrators played a key role in founding the college; they did so partly because Florida is home to extensive beef and dairy cattle industries, which generated $16.80 billion in revenues and supported 118,000 jobs in calendar year 2017, according to a UF/IFAS report also issued this week.

Large-animal veterinary services are critical to the state’s cattle industries, and consequently the UF College of Veterinary Medicine puts considerable emphasis on this aspect of practice, working in collaboration with the UF/IFAS animal sciences department. As Florida approaches the 500th anniversary of the introduction of cattle to her shores in 1521, it is especially appropriate for UF to receive attention for its accomplishments in veterinary medicine, said Jack Payne, Ph.D., UF senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources.

“This significant jump in the national rankings just proves that the faculty and staff at the College of Veterinary Medicine are some of the best serving Florida’s robust agriculture industry,” Payne said.

The ninth-place ranking makes the College of Veterinary Medicine one of seven UF graduate programs that achieved a discipline-specific Top 10 ranking in the 2020 results, available at https://bit.ly/2sdry8i. Altogether, 28 UF graduate programs achieved discipline-specifics rankings in the Top 30 or better.

The mission of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is to develop knowledge relevant to agricultural, human and natural resources and to make that knowledge available to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. With more than a dozen research facilities, 67 county Extension offices, and award-winning students and faculty in the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UF/IFAS works to bring science-based solutions to the state’s agricultural and natural resources industries, and all Florida residents. Visit the UF/IFAS web site at ifas.ufl.edu and follow us on social media at @UF_IFAS.